How We Test Whether a Game Really Works Offline

When a game claims to be offline, we don't take its word for it. We have a routine, and it's saved us from recommending a few duds.

First, we install and open the game once with a connection to let it pull any first-run data. Then we turn on airplane mode and try to launch it fresh. Plenty of 'offline' games fail this step immediately with a login wall.

Next we play for a real stretch — not five minutes, but long enough to trigger any hidden checks. Some games run fine at first and then quietly demand a connection to save or unlock content. Those get flagged in the review.

Finally we close and reopen the app offline to confirm progress actually saved locally. Only after all that do we feel comfortable calling something a true offline game.